Man Allegedly Finds Cockroaches In Coffee, Eatery Says They're Stepping Up Hygiene Checks

Customer finds cockroach in iced coffee order

Insects such as bugs and cockroaches should never make their way into our meals, unless otherwise intended. One netizen, however, had an unfortunate tale to tell after allegedly finding several cockroaches in an iced coffee order from well-known restaurant, Nam Heong Ipoh, that has several outlets nationwide.

After raising concerns over food hygiene at the outlet he placed the order at, the customer received an apology from the restaurant. The restaurant’s management also issued an official statement saying that hygiene checks are being carried out at the outlet in question on Facebook.

Customer finds cockroach in Nam Heong order

On 8th June 2021, netizen Andrew Loh took to his Facebook page to share how his wife had been sipping on her ice coffee order from Nam Heong Ipoh at their branch in Paradigm Mall in PJ when she “felt something in [her] mouth”.

Upon close inspection of the coffee cup, they found what appeared to be several cockroaches of various sizes in the brown beverage.

Cockroaches in iced coffee - post
Image credit: Facebook

After reporting the incident to the relevant parties, Loh received a refund for the coffee. He also got his money back for a noodle dish that had came with the wrong soup, from the same GrabFood order. Loh clarified in his post that it wasn’t his goal to get a refund, but to raise awareness about food hygiene practices at eateries amidst a pandemic.

Image credit: Facebook

Representatives from Nam Heong Ipoh are said to have reached out to Loh to apologise, as he shared in an update to the same Facebook post. The representatives also called him up again to ensure that he and his wife hadn’t suffered from health issues following the incident.

Nam Heong releases statement about incident

After Loh’s post went viral with over 500 shares and reactions, Nam Heong Ipoh took to their Facebook page on 10th June to issue an official statement. According to their post, a service report from a pest control company dated 9th June 2021 said that they found no traces of pest activity at the outlet at the time of inspection.

Likewise, the management of Nam Heong Ipoh carried out an internal investigation too. They will also be closing their Paradigm Mall outlet in PJ from 10th to 11th June for deep cleaning, inspection and disinfection, and to do checks on daily working logs and suppliers.

Image credit: Nam Heong

Strict hygiene checks on equipment and perishable items in the outlet will also continue as per usual, as part of their routine measures. It is said that their staff will also be undergoing food handling courses again following the incident.

Nam Heong Ipoh also listed out several COVID-19 related safety measures that they have at their outlets – including strict hygiene measures and weekly disinfectant fogging of their outlets.

Man finds cockroaches in iced coffee order

Nobody wants to find insects near their food, much less in them, especially during a pandemic when we’re all being strict about our personal hygiene. So we’re glad that Nam Heong Ipoh is stepping up hygiene checks at the outlet mentioned in the incident, and taking the case seriously so there won’t be similar incidents in the future.